People call Ember Nile Calderon a lot of things. Sometimes it's the Huntress, Queen of Arrows, the Archeress, or the Lonely Wolf. Those she don't mind. After all, she's one of the most decorated archers of her time. She's a two-time defending champi...
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#DS5Unbowed #EmbRace #DaggerSeries
CHAPTER 3: SOBER
EMBER'S POV
Nagsalubong ang mga kilay ko nang huminto ang kotseng kinaroroonan ko sa tapat ng mansyon at may nahagip ang mga mata ko. Hindi pa pinapatay ni Trace na siyang nagmaneho ang makina ay binuksan ko na ang pintuan para lumabas.
I looked at the huge shed on the opposite side of where I'm standing, but there's no way that I could really see them from here for sure. The door of the barn is closed though. I let out a sigh of relief, and I closed the gate of the tall fence. Baka may nakakalimot na naman at naiwan iyon na bukas.
"That's a huge corral. Do you raise farm animals here? According to our file, you're not really in the business."
"Because I'm not." Nilingon ko si Domino at binigyan ko siya ng maliit na ngiti. "The property is called a ranch, but we don't do livestock farming or animal husbandry."
Lumibot ang mga mata niya sa paligid. "The place seems quiet."
I looked up at the house. There's a reason why my father calls it a mansion. It has sixteen rooms. It's old but well maintained, and the surrounding land is vast. It's beautiful... and yet it's just a piece of structure to me.
"That's because I live alone."
Kumunot ang noo ng lalaki at nakita ko na ganoon din si Trace na nakalapit na sa amin at mukhang narinig ang pinag-uusapan naming dalawa.
"You live alone in a house this huge?" Domino asked.
"I have seven employees. They help me with everything, pero umuuwi din sila sa mga bahay nila pagkatapos ng trabaho nila bukod kay Miss Asencio." Fidela Asencio has been with me for years. Siya ang tumatayong mayordoma ng mansyon. She might be the only mother figure I have, but I'm used to calling her "Miss Asencio" dahil iyon ang nakasanayan kong itawag sa kaniya dahil na rin sa ama ko. "So I'm not really that alone per se."
"And your family?" Trace asked.
Tinapunan ko ng tingin ang hawak niya na binder folder. "If you've investigated me, then you're probably aware that not one of my family members is here. They're all in Manila. I've been living alone since the moment my stepmother decided that she couldn't stay in a boring ranch anymore and because she wants my half-sister to study at a prestigious school. They haven't stepped foot here since."
"When was that?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Since when did they leave you here?" Trace clarified.
"Since I was ten."
My half-sister was five then, and my stepbrother was twelve. My father got my stepmother pregnant not long after my mother died. As in months later. Emmiliano Calderon is a very traditional man. Pinanagutan niya ang responsibilidad niya at pinakasalanan niya ang stepmother ko na si Angelina kahit na bunga lang iyon ng isang gabing pagkalimot niya habang lango siya sa pagdadalamhati sa pagkamatay ng ina ko. Or so I heard.
